Better Improv through Contextual Roleplay

Today we’re talking about contextual roleplay.

I like a what/how/why approach so let’s start with what. What is contextual roleplay? It’s just context and common sense. Contextual roleplay is keeping in mind all the facts and details you have established in your story and being aware of how they might impact the actions of your character in a scene.

The reality is that everyone’s only going to get a handful of solo moments per session - that’s not a judgement, that’s just being realistic. So when the story is not about you, that’s when you use contextual roleplay to showcase who your character is right now. So when you step into a scene, ask yourself - what’s already true, and how can I make it matter?

So that’s our ‘what’. In terms of how, it’s basically engaging multiple realities at once. 

Name the emotion. What’s in your chest? Anger? Guilt? Fear?
Use the environment. What’s around you? Walls, shadows, cold air, ground muddy from rain.
Layer past and present.  “My hands are still slick from the blood.” Boom. Call back to making a mook more than just a mook.

Let’s pick something pretty standard for an example - you’re sneaking into a guarded location.

An example WITHOUT contextual roleplay: “I sneak up behind the guy and try to knock him out with my pistol butt. Do I roll for that?”

This is functional. It communicates what the character does and invites a roll. And like if you are being mindful of pacing or time, or maybe it’s not really a table that engages with this kind of roleplay, maybe you’ll prefer this but if you think you can have some fun with it - have some fun! It’ll usually build emotion, tension, add to characterization and possibly even get a few laughs. 

Basically, every little thing can be an opportunity for characterization and frankly, gives the GMs and other players more to react to. 

The same example with contextual roleplay:

““I creep down the hall, staying in the shadows, trying to wipe the blood from my hands onto my pants without really thinking. Once I get close, I swing.”

Now we’re in it. We’ve got emotion. We’ve got urgency. We can feel the scene and we didn’t need a monologue - just a little flavour.

So that’s our how. Let’s move to the why. Why do this? Why bother?:

• It makes the action feel yours, not generic.

• It paints the scene - smells, sounds, mood - and a rich scene is a gift for the whole table.

• It gives your GM extra toys to play with.

• It makes successes feel heroic and failures feel like drama, not disappointment. It’s so cool when failure feels like a story beat.

• And finally, it’s just fun. It’s not taking yourself too seriously and letting yourself be pulled into a good time and sometimes good vibes that you bring to the party are the most important thing. 

No matter your tone - whether its dramatic, light, cinematic, chaotic - contextual roleplay gives your actions personality. A little effort goes a long way. This is how you turn dice rolls into scenes people remember.